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Digital television company will still have to answer a copyright infringement claim

In a partial victory for Aereo, a U.S. district court judge dismissed part of a lawsuit brought against the digital television company by a group of major broadcasters.

Backed by media mogil Barry Diller, Aereo launched last March but has faced fierce legal challenges from NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, PBS and Univision, all of whom have filed suit alleging that the company does not have their consent to retransmit their programming.

In response, Aereo has argued that it has a legal right to access broadcast signals because the airwaves are publicly owned.

The startup is funded by Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp, and the former Fox and Paramount chief has accused the media companies of resorting to legal challenges in order to protect their own “hegemony” over broadcast television.